BUDDHISM Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.  Born about 480 years before Christ, he was called the Buddha, meaning the Enlightened or Awakened One.  His teachings spread from India and are now most followed in Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast and East Asian nations, and nations such as China, Korea, and Japan.  There are said to be only about 360 million followers worldwide, but for example many Chinese and Japanese mix at least some of Buddhism with Confucianism, so in that sense there are many more.  Buddhism tries to end the suffering of cyclic existence or samsara by guiding followers to liberation from this material universe.  Followers must  purify and train their minds then obey laws of karma which say for example that if we act badly then we will have a negative consequence if not now then after death when transformed into another being such as an insect.  Buddhism says to not harm others and to do things in life in a moderate or well-balanced way.  It does not deny supernatural beings exist and many are noted in Buddhist scriptures, but it also does not teach that they were sources of creation, can save us from death, or judge us.   Buddhists do believe they can affect world events, and some Buddhists use rituals to associate with the supernatural.  Buddhism has helped to develop many persons of good character but Christians respectfully maintain that Christianity and the Good News of Christ do so even better.  For example, in contrast to karma etc in the Christian book of Acts 24:15 it is taught that "there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous." John 3:16 also notes that Christ died so that ALL humans might live.   Christians believe there will be a resurrection of humans into perfect bodies on paradise earth or as spirit beings serving with Christ from in heaven.  Wrong-doers will be judged perfectly by God, disciplined perfectly fairly and with full justice by God, reconciled and taught the ways of righteousness from which they must not wander.  In the end all matters will be set right,  all humanity reconciled unto God.  Surely, this is Good News!   For more free leaflets on other topics go to christianwitnesses.com.  Freely make and share copies of this.

IS BUDDHISM THE RELIGION OF PEACE? Buddhism is known for being a relatively peaceful major religion.  Its founder, Siddhārtha Gautama or “The Buddha,” advocated non-violence although it is also true that he did not tell kings or soldiers they had to stop fighting wars to become his followers.  Further, he did not speak against the use of violence in self-defense.  There are also many large branches of Buddhism, and those are also not without a history of warfare. For example, Buddhist groups in Tibet warred against each other and Tibet’s native Bon religion.  Tibet’s Dalai Lamas lead armies to destroy opponents.  In the 14th century Buddhists led a war that liberated Mongolia from China.  In Japan during the Ikko Itta revolts of the 1400-1500s, Buddhists revolted against the samurai. Japan’s Zen Buddhists conducted wars against one another and the samurai.  They supported Japan in World War II, and Buddhist monks taught Samurai warriors meditation for fighting better then.  The island nation of Sri Lanka south of India has had a lengthy civil war between the mostly Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the mostly Hindu Tamils.   The Tamils have charged the Buddhists with discrimination.  Most of the violent, cruel and corrupt military heads over Burma (Myanmar) are Buddhists, and Buddhist monks have led protests against their dictatorship.  The Buddhists of Burma and Thailand constantly warred against each other.  Buddhists of Burma and Vietnam also fought wars against each other.   Buddhist Vietnamese have fought against Roman Catholic Vietnamese. Buddhism has long been a prominent religion in China and among Chinese communities scattered around the earth going back some 2,400 years.  Even today possibly 20% of modern Chinese are Buddhists.  However throughout the past 2,400 years China has had many wars, some resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands or millions of people.  So when we look at China and the other nations of Asia, although the founder of Buddhism, his teachings and the beliefs of many modern Buddhists are peaceful, it is not correct to say Buddhism is totally a religion of peace.  It puts emphasis on peace, and it has been helpful for it, but overall it has faltered in fulfillment of the ideal.  The fact is that Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc also fall short in regard to peace.  Ultimately each individual is responsible before the eyes of God as to what s/he as an individual has done to help or to hurt other people.